Patents: Fueling Innovation And Economic Growth

INTRODUCTION

A patent is a legal privilege issued by a government to an inventor or assignee, enabling them to have the only rights to practice an invention for a specific period. Simply put, it is a way of protecting inventions under the law and banning other individuals or companies from manufacturing, commercializing or selling any invention that is protected by a patent, without the consent of the owner of the patent. This exclusivity ensures that inventors are able to recover their investment costs that they put into creating new technologies or products out in the market, thus encouraging more innovation.

There are several ends that patents satisfy. First of all, they factor in the stimulation of innovation for the simple reason that inventors are motivated to use their time, money, and other resources to engage in research with a view to coming up with new ideas. The assertion towards exclusivity compels inventors to inform the public about such